Steven Spielberg is set to direct Ready Player One, the highly anticipated project based on the popular sci-fi book by Ernest Cline that takes place in a virtual world.

The book takes place in 2044 and follows the story of a virtual-reality game creator who offers up his entire company to the best player who can find an Easter egg in one of his many virtual worlds via a game called OASIS. A teenager named Wade Watts decides to take it on after millions have failed over many years. The key to winning the game is a plethora of pop culture clues from the 1980s. Whomever figures it out and wins the game — without having their avatars killed in the process — takes over the entire OASIS empire.

Zak Penn (X-Men: The Last Stand, The Avengers) wrote the latest script after taking over the duties from Cline and Eric Eason (A Better Life).

Fifty Shades Of Grey Part 2 and Part 3

Sam Taylor-Johnson…will not return [to direct] the second installment of the film franchise adaptation of E L James’ best-selling Fifty Shades Of Grey book trilogy for Universal.

Taylor-Johnson said: “While I will not be returning to direct the sequels, I wish nothing but success to whosoever takes on the exciting challenges of films two and three.”

The Layover

Lea Michele and Kate Upton will star in The Layover, the William H. Macy-directed road trip sex comedy scripted by David Hornsby and Lance Krall…Michele and Upton play a pair of lifelong best friends who decide to avoid their problems by taking a vacation only to find that their plane has been rerouted due to a hurricane warning. To make matters worse, the two friends find themselves battling for the same guy during an extended layover in St. Louis. Macy will play a role in the film as well.

A Star Is Born (remake)

Warner Bros is negotiating with its American Sniper star Bradley Cooper to make his feature directorial debut on the remake of A Star Is Born. The hope is for Cooper also to star in the film. Once his deal is done, their first stop will be to Beyonce, who once was positioned to play the role of the young woman whose dreams of stardom are helped by a self-destructive icon whose best days are behind him. She was circling when Clint Eastwood was going to helm the remake, and the director discussed that male lead role with Cooper. She hasn’t yet been re-approached formally. Cooper will take a pass at the script with Will Fetters, who wrote the most recent draft, and the hope is that he can get into this wholeheartedly

Independence Day 2

Roland Emmerich has booked another Independence Day actor to return for Fox’s sequel, adding Vivica A. Fox to the cast.

Anna Kendrick is reteaming with her Rocket Science director Jeffrey Blitz for the comedy Table 19, about a group of strangers who are marooned at the misfits table at a destination wedding…The film also stars Craig Robinson, Lisa Kudrow, Stephen Merchant, Tony Revolori, June Squibb, Wyatt Russell and Amanda Crew.

The Billion Brick Race

The studio has hired Jason Segel…to pen and co-direct a new Lego movie, this one titled The Billion Brick Race.

The story will be based on an original idea by Pearce that excited the studio.

In The Trap

The Trap, a revenge tale set against the backdrop of the Miami music scene starring Idris Elba as a gangster rap artist and Benicio Del Toro as his best friend who took the fall for a robbery the duo committed years earlier.

Elba is attached to replace Jamie Foxx, with Al Pacino, Robert Pattinson and James Franco also in final talks to join the cast (Del Toro was announced last year).

In The Trap, written by [Harmony Korine], Rico (Elba) is at the top of his career and about to enjoy a triumphant night at the Grammy Awards when Slim (Del Toro) is released from prison after 14 years. Slim is determined to exact revenge after learning that Rico not only achieved fame and fortune but also married his girlfriend and raised Slim’s son as his own.

Slim’s plot includes recruiting a crew of Uzi-weilding surfers led by Max (Pattinson), as well as enlisting the help of Rico’s cocaine-happy manager (Franco). Pacino will play Slim’s parole officer.

Nocturnal Animals

Tom Ford is attached to direct Nocturnal Animals, the adaptation of an Austin Wright book titled Tony and Susan. Ford wrote the script for the postmodern noir thriller and will direct while [George Clooney] will produce with his Smokehouse Pictures partner Grant Heslov.

Wright’s book was initially published in 1993 and tells of a woman named Susan who receives a book manuscript from her ex-husband, a man whom she left 20 years earlier, asking for her opinion.

The book then tracks two stories: the story in the novel, titled Nocturnal Animals, which tells of a man whose family vacation turns violent and deadly; and the story of Susan, who finds herself recalling her first marriage and confronting some dark truths about herself.

Jake Gyllenhaal is attached to star in Tom Ford’s thriller “Nocturnal Animals,”while Amy Adams is in early talks to join him

There are also offers out to Joaquin Phoenix and Aaron Taylor-Johnson

X-Men: Apocalypse

Bryan Singer announced via Instagram…that actress Lana Condor will play mutant Jubilee in the upcoming film “X-Men Apocalypse.”

In the “X-Men” universe, Jubilee is a teenage mutant capable of generating explosive plasmoids from her hands.

Star Trek 3

Idris Elba [is] in negotiations to play the villain in “Star Trek 3”

The news was first reported by Variety, which suggests that Elba may be playing a Klingon, though representatives for the actor did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Star Wars: Rogue One

Ben Mendelsohn…met for one of the lead roles in Disney and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars spinoff “Rogue One.”

It’s unknown whether Mendelsohn has received an offer but the Australian actor is someone execs are seriously considering for the film.

Barry Sonnenfeld is directing the pic, which revolves around a workaholic businessman who has to figure out how to redeem himself after a terrible accident leaves him trapped in the body of his family’s cat.

About the author

Rollo Tomasi

A Political Science and MBA grad who started FilmBook during an eCommerce B-School course in 2008. Cinema and TV addict. Former writer at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and Alternative Film Guide. In addition to writing for FilmBook, he also edits the copy published on the website, manages its writing staff, manages the back-end operations, site finances, its social network accounts, and works with publicists, actors, and companies on press coverage and promotions. He has also created ProMovieBlogger.com and Trending Awards.com.